JPH11249955A - Dynamic buffer management method and computer readable storage medium where program to execute each process of this method in computer is recorded - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform redistribution processing of a buffer with a specific processing program as an object. SOLUTION: When assignment of buffer blocks is requested from a processing process, which is not under execution, it is discriminated whether buffer blocks can be assigned to this processing process by reducing the number of buffer blocks assigned to any one of processing programs, which are under execution (S303), if the number of unused buffer blocks in a buffer area is smaller than the minimum number of buffer blocks required for execution of processing in the processing process. If it is discriminated in the discrimination process that assignment is possible, the number of buffer blocks assigned to one of executing processing processes is reduced to reserve buffer blocks to be assigned to the processing process, which is not under execution, and thereafter, reserved buffer blocks are assigned to this processing process (S308).

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for dynamically managing a buffer, and more particularly, to a method for collectively managing a buffer area used for processing multimedia data and a method for managing the buffer area by a plurality of blocks. The present invention relates to a dynamic management method of a buffer which is dynamically divided into processing processes executed at each time and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the development of computer technology in recent years, not only characters but also multimedia data such as voices, still images, and moving images can be easily handled in personal computers. .
In addition, due to the speeding up of the network, multimedia data of the server device can be distributed via the network in response to a request from the client device, and the multimedia data can be easily viewed on the client device. It is becoming.

FIG. 17 shows a multimedia on demand system (hereinafter referred to as a “MOD system”).
FIG. The MOD system shown in FIG.
A server device 100 having multimedia data such as voice, still image, moving image, etc .; requesting the server device 100 to distribute multimedia data; receiving the multimedia data distributed from the server device 100, and performing browsing, etc. A plurality of client devices 101a to 101c (hereinafter referred to as “client device 101”);
00 and a network 102 connecting the client device 101 to the network.

[0004] As described above, the server device 100 distributes the corresponding multimedia data to the client 101 that has made the request in response to the request from the client device 101. At this time, the server device 100 reads multimedia data to be delivered to a buffer area secured in a memory (not shown), and delivers the multimedia data read to the buffer area to the corresponding client device 101. In other words, when there is a distribution request from the client 101, a processing process corresponding to the type of the requested multimedia data occurs in the server device 100, and each of the generated processing processes uses the buffer area.

Here, in order to smoothly deliver multimedia data from the server device 100 to the client device 101, it is important how to manage the buffer area. To distribute multimedia data to the client device 101 more smoothly, all of the multimedia data to be distributed may be read out to the buffer area. However, the buffer area, that is, the memory capacity is finite, and in particular, since the amount of data such as a moving image is enormous, it is impractical to read all the multimedia data to be distributed into the buffer area. is there.

Therefore, in the server device 100,
For each of the above processing processes, it is necessary to perform a process of allocating a buffer used for distributing multimedia data. The following technique has been proposed as a method of allocating the buffer.

As a first example of a buffer distribution method, there is a uniform reduction / expansion method. This even reduction / expansion method
If the client 101 has received a distribution request for multimedia data, but it is not possible to secure a buffer area to be used in a processing process that performs processing in response to this request, the buffer area already allocated to each of the other processing By uniformly reducing each of them, a buffer area for allocation is secured. Further, in the equal reduction / expansion method, when a certain processing process releases a buffer area, the released buffer area is equally distributed to other processing processes.

As a second example of the buffer allocation method, there is a self-cleaning method. In this self-cleaning method, when a processing process declares access to a buffer, a buffer area required by the processing process is allocated, and when the buffer is not accessed by the processing process, the processing process performs processing. For this purpose, a minimum necessary buffer area is allocated. In this case, the difference in the buffer area between when the processing process is accessing and when it is not accessing is managed so that another processing process can use it.

In the above two methods, the buffer area is divided into a plurality of blocks and managed, and a process of allocating a buffer to each processing process in divided blocks (hereinafter referred to as "buffer blocks") is performed. Done.

[0010]

However, in the above uniform reduction / expansion method, a finite buffer area can be effectively used, but when the amount of buffer area is enormous, each processing There is a problem that it takes time to reduce or enlarge the allocated buffer, and thus it is not possible to increase the processing speed.

Further, in the above uniform reduction / expansion method, it is necessary to release a part of each buffer allocated to all the processing processes each time the reduction process is performed, and to execute all the processing processes each time the expansion process is performed. Processing must be complicated because buffers must be allocated to
Since the memory operation becomes complicated, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain consistency.

In the self-cleaning method, as in the case of the uniform reduction / expansion method, a finite buffer area can be effectively used, but when a certain processing process declares access to a buffer, the processing process is not performed. In order to allocate the required buffers, if the access time to a buffer of a certain processing process is long, the buffer for allocating to another processing process becomes insufficient, and the processing of another processing process stops. Was.

Further, in the self-cleaning method, the number of times the multimedia data is saved from the buffer to the disk is determined in order to determine whether or not to allocate the buffer according to whether or not the processing process is accessing the buffer. However, there is a problem in that the merits of buffering multimedia data decrease.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and when dynamically reallocating buffers allocated to each processing process when the load of the entire system changes due to an increase or decrease in the number of processing processes, etc. It is a first object of the present invention to speed up and simplify processing by performing buffer reallocation processing for a specific processing process.

Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and by performing buffer redistribution processing for a specific processing process, buffer reallocation is performed without affecting other processing processes. A second object is to make it possible to make an allocation.

Further, the present invention has been made in view of the above, and reduces the number of times multimedia data is saved from a buffer to a disk by performing a buffer reallocation process for a specific processing process. The third object is to maximize the advantage of buffering.

[0017]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for dynamically managing a buffer, which collectively manages a buffer area used for processing multimedia data in the entire system or a specific device. And
In the dynamic management method of a buffer, which divides the buffer area into a plurality of blocks and dynamically allocates the buffer area to each of an arbitrary number of processing processes executed at each time, a buffer block allocation request from an unexecuted processing process If the number of unused buffer blocks in the buffer area is less than the minimum number of buffer blocks required for executing the process in the unexecuted processing process, A determining step of determining whether a buffer block can be allocated to the unexecuted processing process by reducing the allocated number of buffer blocks; and By reducing the number of buffer blocks allocated to any of the A buffer securing process to ensure the buffer block to be allocated during the treatment process, it is intended to include, a buffer allocation process to allocate a buffer block to the processing process in the unexecuted secured in the buffer securing process.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the dynamic buffer management method according to the first aspect, the determining step includes the step of executing the unexecuted process and the step of executing the process. The total number of the minimum number of buffer blocks required to execute the respective processes is compared with the total number of buffer blocks in the buffer area, and if the total number does not exceed the total number of buffer blocks, the It is determined that a buffer block can be assigned to the processing process.

In the dynamic buffer management method according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the dynamic buffer management method according to the first or second aspect, the number of buffer blocks is further reduced before executing the buffer allocation step. A rank information generating step of generating reduction rank information for determining a target processing process being executed, wherein the buffer securing step determines a buffer block based on the reduction rank information generated in the rank information generation step. It is to determine the running process to be reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the buffer dynamic management method according to the third aspect, the order information generation step is currently assigned to each of the currently executed processing processes. The number of buffer blocks that can be allocated to the unexecuted processing process is determined based on the number of buffer blocks that are in use and the minimum number of buffer blocks required to execute the processing, and the reduction is performed based on the determined number of buffer blocks. This is for generating a ranking.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the dynamic buffer management method according to the fourth aspect, the processing process has priority information on the allocation of the buffer blocks, respectively. The order information generating step generates the reduction order based on the priority order information and the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated to the unexecuted processing process obtained for each of the currently executed processing processes.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the buffer dynamic management method according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, the processing process requests allocation of the buffer block. When doing, one of the dynamic allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is variable and the fixed allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is fixed can be selected, and the order information generating step generates the reduced order, A process in which the fixed allocation mode is selected is excluded from the running processes for which the buffer blocks are to be reduced.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a dynamic buffer management method, wherein a buffer area used for processing multimedia data in the entire system or a specific device is collectively managed, and the buffer area is stored in a plurality of blocks. In the dynamic management method of buffers that are dynamically allocated to any number of processing processes that are divided at each time and executed at each point in time, when a buffer block is released from any processing process, the released buffer is It includes a buffer allocating step for allocating to any of the other processing processes.

The buffer dynamic management method according to claim 8 is the dynamic buffer management method according to claim 7, further comprising: allocating a released buffer block before executing the buffer allocation step. A rank information generating step for generating allocation rank information for determining a target processing process, wherein the buffer allocating step is based on the allocation rank information generated in the rank information generating step, and the released buffer block Is to determine a processing process to be allocated.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the buffer dynamic management method according to the eighth aspect, the order information generating step includes the step of: Based on the number of blocks and the number of buffer blocks requested when performing the process,
The number of deficient buffer blocks with respect to the requested number of buffer blocks is obtained, and the allocation order is generated based on the obtained number of deficient buffer blocks.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the dynamic buffer management method according to the ninth aspect, wherein the processing process has priority information on the allocation order of the buffer blocks. The order information generating step generates the allocation order based on the priority order information and the number of insufficient buffer blocks obtained for each of the processing processes.

The buffer dynamic management method according to claim 11 is the dynamic buffer management method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the processing process requests allocation of the buffer block. In doing, it is possible to select any one of the dynamic allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is variable and the fixed allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is fixed, and the order information generating step, when generating the allocation order, The process in which the fixed allocation mode is selected is excluded from the process to be allocated to the released buffer block.

A computer-readable recording medium according to a twelfth aspect of the present invention records a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the dynamic buffer management method according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects. It was done.

[0029]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a dynamic buffer management method according to the present invention and a computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the method will be described below. This will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, FIG.
An embodiment of the present invention will be described by taking an example in which the dynamic buffer management method according to the present invention is applied to the MOD system shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining the concept of processing by the dynamic buffer management method according to the present embodiment, and shows the concept of processing in the server device 100 shown in FIG. It is. In FIG. 1, the buffer management manager 103 includes a memory management manager 10
4, a buffer area used for processing multimedia data in the entire system or a specific device is secured in the memory 105 and collectively managed, and the buffer area is divided into a plurality of blocks (buffer blocks). Then, a process of dynamically allocating to an arbitrary number of processing processes (inquiry processing process, update processing process, etc.) being executed at each time point is executed. Each processing process buffers multimedia data using the buffer area allocated by the buffer management manager 103.

Further, the buffer management manager 103
Considering the load of processing processes that are executed simultaneously in the entire system, the number of buffer blocks allocated to each processing process is determined so that processing by each processing process is performed at high speed and the parallel operation (throughput) of the system is maximized. decide. The buffers for the number of buffer blocks allocated to each processing process are exclusively used by each processing process until the buffers are released.

When the load on the entire system changes due to an increase or decrease in the number of processing processes, the buffer management manager dynamically redistributes the buffers allocated to the respective processing processes, and always optimizes the buffers for the respective processing processes. Performs buffer allocation processing.

The actual buffering process is performed by a multimedia buffering module 106 (hereinafter referred to as "module 106").
The modules 106 that can be used are selected according to the type of data to be processed, such as audio, still images, and moving images.

Next, the dynamic buffer management method according to the present embodiment will be described. (1) Outline of processing (2) Information used in dynamic buffer management method (3) Basic processing of buffer management manager ( 4) Basic processing of module (5) Specific processing using dynamic buffer management method (6) Effects of the embodiment will be described in this order.

(1) Outline of Processing In the buffer dynamic management method according to the present embodiment, the following two processings are roughly divided. The first process (corresponding to a buffer redistribution process 1 to be described later) is a process in which, when a buffer for executing a process by a certain module 106 cannot be secured, a buffer allocated to a process of another specific module 106 To secure a buffer that can execute the processing at least. The second processing (corresponding to the buffer redistribution processing 2 described later) is performed by a certain module 106.
When the buffer block is released from the module, the released buffer block is allocated to the processing process of another specific module 106, and the buffer already allocated to the processing process of the module 106 is expanded. .

In the first and second processes, the processing of the module 106 for which the buffer is to be redistributed is executed by all the modules 106 being executed in the system.
A specific module 106
It is characterized in that it is a processing process. The buffers allocated to the processing processes of each module 106 include:
A further feature is that it is used exclusively by each processing process and has no relationship with other processing processes.

(2) Information Used in the Dynamic Buffer Management Method Subsequently, information used in the dynamic buffer management method according to the present embodiment will be defined.

Information managed by the buffer management manager 103 a) Total number of buffer blocks: totalSize This is the total number of buffer blocks in the buffer area secured in the memory 105.

B) Number of buffer blocks currently used: curren
tTotalSize This is the number of buffer blocks currently used out of the total number of buffer blocks.

C) Total number of unused buffer blocks: rest
TotalSize This is the total number of buffer blocks that are not currently used.

D) Total number of request buffer blocks: reques
tTotalSize This is the total value of the maximum number of buffer blocks used by each module 106 for the processing process.

E) Minimum total number of movable buffer blocks: mi
nimumTotalSize This is the total value of the minimum number of buffer blocks required by each module 106 for the processing process.

Information for Managing Module 106 a) Number of Requested Buffer Blocks: requestSize This is the maximum number of buffer blocks used by the module 106 for executing the processing process. Module 106
Is the number of buffer blocks initially requested to the buffer management manager 103 when executing the processing process. As long as there is free space in the buffer area, buffers for the number of requested buffer blocks are allocated to the processing processes of each module.

B) Minimum number of movable buffer blocks: minimu
mSize is the minimum number of buffer blocks required by the module 106 for the processing process. That is, this is the number of buffer blocks that must be allocated to the processing of each module 106 without fail.

C) Buffer mode: mode A variable mode in which the number of allocated buffer blocks is variable (allows dynamic allocation), and a fixed number in which the number of buffer blocks does not change (dynamic allocation is disabled) There is a fixed mode in which the buffer blocks are allocated. The processing process of the module 106 in which the fixed mode is selected includes buffer reallocation processes 1 and 2 described later.
Will be excluded from the target.

D) Buffer priority: priority This parameter serves as a parameter for determining the order of processing of the module 106 to which the buffer is to be redistributed. Buffer redistribution processing 1 and 2 described later
Is used when determining the reduction target priority and the expansion target priority.

E) Number of distribution buffer blocks: distribute
Size The number of buffer blocks actually allocated to the processing of the module 106.

F) Current number of buffer blocks: currentS
ize is the number of buffer blocks currently allocated to the processing of the module 106.

G) Number of buffer blocks that can be allocated: potential
ialSize The number of buffer blocks that can be allocated to the processing processes of the other modules 106, excluding the minimum number of operating buffer blocks, out of the number of buffer blocks currently allocated to the processing processes of each module 106. It is used in a buffer redistribution process 1 described later.

H) Insufficient buffer block count: insufficie
ntSize This is the number of buffer blocks obtained by subtracting the minimum number of operating buffer blocks from the number of required buffer blocks, and indicates how many buffer blocks are required to satisfy the required number of buffer blocks. It is used in a buffer redistribution process 2 described later.

I) Reduction priority: reducePriority In the buffer redistribution processing 1 to be described later, all or a part of the buffers of the number of allocatable buffer blocks from the processing process of any module 106 is transferred to the processing process of another module 106. This is information for determining whether to allocate. A priority is given to the processing process of each module 106 based on the reduction target priority, and the buffer allocated to the processing process of the first-rank module 106 is allocated to the processing process of another module 106. Distribute. In the description of the present embodiment, “reduction” means that the module 106 releases all or a part of the buffers for the number of distributable buffer blocks for the processing process of another module 106. ing. In other words, the module 106
Means that the buffer area occupied by the processing process is reduced.

J) Expansion target priority: expandPriority In a buffer redistribution process 2 to be described later, it is determined to which of the processing processes of the module 106 the buffer released by the processing process of the other module 106 is to be distributed. Information. A priority is given to the processing process of each module 106 based on the priority of the expansion target, and the buffers released elsewhere are distributed to the processing process of the module 106 having the first priority. In the description of the present embodiment, “expansion” means that the module 106 secures all or a part of buffers for the number of insufficient buffer blocks. In other words, it means that the buffer area occupied by the processing process of the module 106 is expanded.

K) Reduction processing function: reduceFunction () This function is used by the module 106 to release all or a part of the buffers corresponding to the number of distributable buffer blocks. It is used in a buffer redistribution process 1 described later.

L) Expansion processing function: expandFunction () This function is used by the module 106 to secure buffer blocks for the number of insufficient buffer blocks. It is used in a buffer redistribution process 2 described later.

Here, the number of required buffer blocks and the minimum number of operating buffer blocks will be further described based on the still image data shown in FIG.

FIG. 2 shows still image data such as a map. In FIG. 2, rectangular areas indicated by A to I mean data for one screen that can be displayed by the client apparatus 101 shown in FIG. The minimum operation buffer block number corresponds to the capacity of a buffer that can take in data for any one of these rectangular areas A to I. Therefore, a buffer corresponding to the minimum number of operation buffer blocks is always allocated to the processing process of each module 106.

The number of requested buffer blocks corresponds to the capacity of a buffer capable of taking in all of the still image data shown in FIG. 2, that is, all of the rectangular areas A to I. If the required number of buffer blocks has been secured,
There is no disk access in the server device 100, and the client device 101 can smoothly scroll up, down, left, and right.

(3) Basic Processing of Buffer Management Manager The buffer management manager 103 basically performs the following processing. Although a brief description will be added to each process, a specific process will be described later.

A) Allocating Total Buffers The memory management manager 104 is given a dynamically allocated area for the total number of buffers. b) Processing for Registration Request from Module 106 According to the buffer allocation processing described later, buffers are allocated to the processing processes of the module 106 that has requested registration. c) Processing for Buffer Access Start Declaration of Module 106 The processing process of module 106 that has issued the buffer access start declaration is excluded from the targets of buffer redistribution processing 1 and buffer redistribution processing 2 to be described later. d) Processing for Buffer Access End Declaration of Module 106 The processing process of module 106 that has issued the buffer access end declaration is added to the buffer redistribution processing 1 and buffer redistribution processing 2 to be described later. e) Processing for buffer release request from module 106 Releases buffers and redistributes empty buffers. f) Release of the total buffer Release the total buffer secured in the memory 105 via the memory management manager 104.

(4) Basic Processing of Modules Each module 106 basically performs the following processing. In addition, a brief description will be added to what is necessary for each process, but specific processes will be described later.

A) Determination and preparation of various parameters The number of required buffer blocks, the minimum number of operating buffer blocks, the buffer mode, and the buffer priority are determined, and a reduction processing function and an expansion processing function are prepared. b) Generation of buffer construction information c) Registration with the buffer management manager 103 Based on the determined parameters and buffer construction information, a process for receiving the distribution of buffer blocks is performed. d) Request to change the number of buffer blocks to the buffer management manager 103 The buffer management manager 103 is requested to change the requested number of buffer blocks and the minimum number of operating buffer blocks. e) Declaration of access to buffer f) Acquisition of current number of buffer blocks g) Actual access to buffer h) Declaration of end of access to buffer i) Processing for reduction request from buffer management manager 103 Reduction processing function (reduceFunction ()) Is used to release all or a part of the buffers for the number of distributable buffer blocks. j) Processing for an expansion request from the buffer management manager 106 All or a part of buffers for the number of insufficient buffer blocks is secured using an expansion processing function (expandFunction ()). k) Deregistering with the buffer management manager The allocated buffer is released.

(5) Specific Processing Using Dynamic Buffer Management Method Next, specific processing using the dynamic buffer management method according to the present embodiment will be described. The redistribution processing 1 and the buffer redistribution processing 2 will be described in detail in the order using the information defined in “(2) Information used in dynamic management method of buffer”.

Buffer Allocation Process As a specific process of the buffer dynamic management method according to the present embodiment, a process of first allocating a buffer to the processing process of the module 106 will be described. It is assumed that the buffer management manager 103 has already secured a buffer area in the memory 105 for distribution to the processing process of each module 106.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the buffer allocation process. Buffer management manager 103
Determines whether there is a buffer allocation request from the module 106 (S301). Module 106
At the time of requesting the allocation of the buffer, the information on the number of requested buffer blocks and the minimum number of operating buffer blocks is passed to the buffer management manager 103.

In step S301, the module 10
When it is determined that a buffer allocation request has been issued from the buffer module 6, the buffer management manager 103 determines whether or not buffers corresponding to the number of requested buffer blocks can be allocated to the processing processes of the corresponding module 106 (S302). Specifically, the buffer management manager 103 determines whether the sum of the currently used buffer block total and the requested buffer block number is equal to or smaller than the total buffer block number.

That is, when currentTotalSize + requestSize ≦ totalSize, the buffer management manager 103 allocates buffers for the number of request buffer blocks to the corresponding module 106.
It is determined that distribution is possible for the processing process.

If it is determined in step S302 that buffers for the number of request buffer blocks can be allocated, the buffer management manager 103 allocates buffers for the number of request buffer blocks to the processing processes of the corresponding module 106. (S306), Step S3
It returns to the process of 01. That is, the number of buffer blocks distributed to the corresponding module 106 here is distributeSize = requestSize.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S302 that the number of buffers corresponding to the number of requested buffer blocks cannot be allocated, the buffer management manager 103 performs processing in the processing process of the module 106 based on the number of buffer blocks corresponding to unused buffers. It is determined whether the minimum number of buffer blocks required for execution can be distributed (S30).
3).

That is, the buffer management manager 103
When (currentTotalSize + requestSize> totalSize) ∧ (currentTotalSize + minimumSize ≦ totalSize), it is determined that the minimum number of buffer blocks required for the execution of the processing in the processing process of the module 106 can be distributed.

In step S303, the module 10
When the buffer management manager 103 determines that the buffers corresponding to the minimum number of buffer blocks necessary for executing the processing process of No. 6 can be allocated, the
Buffers corresponding to the number of unused buffer blocks that can be secured are allocated to the processing process 06 (S307), and the process returns to step S301. Here, the number of buffer blocks distributed to the processing process of the module 106 is as follows: distributeSize = totalSize−currentTotalSize.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S303 that the buffers corresponding to the minimum number of buffer blocks necessary for executing the processing process of the module 106 cannot be allocated, the buffer management It is determined whether or not buffers of the minimum required number of buffer blocks can be allocated to the processing process (S304). Here, the reduction request is to release all or a part of the buffers of the number of allocatable buffer blocks to another specific module 106 for the processing process of the module 106 requesting the allocation of the buffer. It is to demand that.

Here, when the buffer management manager determines that (currentTotalSize + minimumSize> totalSize) ∧ (minimumTotalSize + minimumSize ≦ totalSize), the buffer management manager issues a reduction request to the processing process of the corresponding module 106 at least. It is determined that buffers for the required number of buffer blocks can be allocated.

If it is determined in step S304 that a buffer corresponding to the minimum required number of buffer blocks can be allocated to the processing process of the corresponding module 106 by the reduction request, the buffer management manager 103 executes the buffer redistribution processing 1. And the corresponding module 1
Buffers for the minimum required number of buffer blocks are allocated to the process 06 (S308). Here, the number of buffer blocks distributed to the processing process of the module 106 is as follows: distributeSize = minimumSize.

The buffer redistribution process 1 in step S308 will be described later in detail with reference to the drawings.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S304 that the buffer of the minimum required number of buffer blocks cannot be allocated to the processing process of the corresponding module 106 even by the reduction request, the buffer management manager 103 , A buffer allocation rejection process is executed (S305), and step S301 is performed.
Return to the processing of.

Here, if the minimum required number of buffers cannot be allocated to the processing process of the corresponding module 106 due to the reduction request, the processing process of the module 106 requesting the allocation of the buffer is included. This occurs when the total value of the minimum number of operation buffer blocks necessary for executing the processing processes of all modules 106 becomes larger than the total number of buffer blocks. This means that all of the processing processes of each module 106 currently being executed are processing with only the buffers necessary for the minimum processing. Therefore, in this state, the module 10 requesting the buffer from the processing process of one of the modules 106
If the buffer is allocated to the processing process of No. 6, the processing of the module 106 cannot be executed.

Therefore, the buffer management manager 103
Cannot allocate buffers unless the condition minimumTotalSize ≦ totalSize is satisfied. Therefore, when a buffer to be allocated to the processing process of a certain module 106 is requested, if the condition of minimumTotalSize + minimumSize> totalSize is satisfied, the buffer is allocated to the processing process of the module 106 requesting the buffer. The possible number of buffer blocks is distributeSize = 0.

The buffer management manager 103 repeatedly executes the above-described processing in response to a buffer distribution request from the module 106. The process shown in FIG. 3 is also executed when there is a request to change the number of buffer blocks from the module 106 that has already received the buffer distribution (for example, when the minimum number of operating buffer blocks is increased). .

Buffer Release Detection Processing Next, the buffer release detection processing will be described. FIG.
9 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a buffer release detection process. The buffer release detection process shown in FIG. 4 is executed in parallel with the above-described buffer allocation process.

During execution of the buffer allocation processing shown in FIG. 3, the buffer management manager 103 periodically checks whether or not a buffer has been released from a processing process of a certain module 106 (S401). The release of the buffer here is performed when all buffers allocated to the processing process of a certain module 106 are released or as a result of a request from a certain module 106 for changing the number of buffer blocks, This includes the case where some buffers have been released.

If it is determined in step S401 that the buffer has been released, the buffer management manager 103
Determines whether the buffer redistribution process 1 in step S308 of FIG. 3 is being executed (S402).

If it is determined in step S402 that buffer redistribution processing 1 is not being executed, step S4
Go to 04. On the other hand, when it is determined that the buffer redistribution process 1 is being performed, the buffer management manager 103
The execution of the buffer redistribution process 1 is stopped (S403).
This is because the released buffer may be allocated to the processing process of the module 106 requesting the allocation of the buffer. However, even if the buffer is released, if the minimum number of operating buffer blocks cannot be distributed, the buffer redistribution process 1 may be executed again.

Thereafter, the buffer management manager 103
Executes the buffer redistribution process 2 (S404), and returns to the process of step S401. The buffer redistribution process 2 is a process of using the released buffer to allocate all or a part of the buffer for the number of insufficient buffer blocks to the processing process of the module 106 currently being executed. Regarding the buffer redistribution process 2,
This will be described later in detail with reference to the drawings.

Next, the buffer redistribution processing 1 executed in step S308 shown in FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the buffer redistribution process 1. When executing the buffer redistribution process 1, the buffer management manager 103 executes the module 1 currently being executed.
Module 10 in which the fixed mode in which the number of buffer blocks to be allocated is fixed is selected from among the processing steps 06
The process 6 is excluded from the processing targets of the buffer redistribution process 1. Further, the processing process of the module 106 which has declared the buffer access start is also excluded from the processing target of the buffer redistribution processing 1.

First, the buffer management manager 103
For each processing process of each module 106, the number of allocatable buffer blocks (current number of buffer blocks−minimum number of operating buffer blocks) that can be released for the module 106 requesting buffer allocation is calculated (S501). ). Specifically, the operation of potentialSize = currentSize-minimumSize is performed.

After obtaining the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated in step S501, the buffer management manager 10
3 is to determine the reduction target priority by weighting the number of distributable buffer blocks to the buffer priority for each processing process of each module 106, and to sort the reduction target priorities in descending order to process each module 106. The process is ranked (S502, S503). In other words, this order releases any or all of the buffers of the distributable buffer block to the processing process of any module 106 for the processing process of the module 106 requesting the buffer distribution. It is a criterion for deciding whether or not to require

That is, the buffer management manager 103
In step S502, the reduction target priority is determined by repeatedly executing an operation of reducePriority = potentialSize ÷ priority × C for each processing process of each module 106, and the determined reduction target priority is sorted in descending order. The process of each module 106 is ranked (S503).

The order of the processing of the module 106 having the higher buffer priority based on the reduction target priority is lower than that of the other modules 106 having the same number of distributable buffer blocks.

Then, the buffer management manager 103
Executes a process of issuing a reduction request to the first-rank module 106 determined in steps S502 and S503 and securing a buffer to be allocated to the processing process of the module 106 requesting the buffer (S504). .

Here, the reduction request is for requesting the processing process of the first-rank module to release the number of buffer blocks equal to or less than the number of allocatable buffer blocks obtained in step S501. The first that received this reduction request
The rank module 106 must release more buffers than the number of buffer blocks requested by the reduction request from the allocated buffers (buffer redistribution).

Then, the buffer management manager 103
Determines whether the reserved number of buffer blocks satisfies the minimum number of buffer blocks (the minimum number of operating buffer blocks) that can execute the processing process of the module 106 requesting the allocation of buffers (S505).

If it is determined in step S505 that the minimum number of buffer blocks that can execute the processing process of the module 106 requesting buffer allocation is not satisfied, the buffer management module 103 executes step S505.
The processing from 501 to S504 is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S505 that the processing process of the module 106 requesting buffer allocation satisfies the minimum number of buffer blocks that can be executed, the buffer management module 103 On the other hand, buffers for the number of secured buffer blocks are allocated (S506),
After the buffer redistribution processing 1 is completed, step S30 in FIG.
Return to 1.

Here, regarding buffer redistribution processing 1,
This will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. First,
The current state of buffer allocation is as shown in FIG.
It is assumed that the processing processes 1 to 4 and other processing processes are currently being executed. FIG. 10A shows the state of the buffer blocks allocated to each of the processing processes 1 to 4, corresponding to FIG. FIG.
0 (b) shows a state in which the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated is calculated for each processing process, and the respective processing processes 1 to 4 are ranked based on the reduction target priority.

In each of FIGS. 10 and 11, the top process corresponds to the first-rank process,
In this processing process, the number of buffers equal to or larger than the number of buffer blocks requested by the reduction request by the buffer management manager 103 must be released from the allocated buffers.

In FIGS. 10 and 11, a rectangular area indicated by a halftone dot is a buffer block (minimum number of operating buffer blocks) required at least for a processing process, and a rectangular area surrounded by a solid line is a step shown in FIG. In the buffer blocks that can be allocated to the other processing processes (the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated) determined in S501, the hatched rectangular areas are the buffer blocks that are released for other processing processes among the allocatable buffer blocks. A rectangular area surrounded by a dotted line corresponds to a buffer block that is insufficient for the number of buffer blocks requested to be allocated (the number of insufficient buffer blocks).

Then, as shown in FIG.
Requesting the allocation of a buffer,
The buffer is released for the processing process 5 from the first-ranking processing process 4 shown in FIG. 0 (b), and the minimum necessary buffer is allocated to the processing process 5. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10C, the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated is calculated for each processing process, the reduction target priority is determined, and the processing processes 1 to 5 are ranked.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Requesting the allocation of a buffer,
The buffer is released for the processing process 6 from the first-ranking processing process 3 shown in 0 (c), and the minimum required buffer is allocated to the processing process 6. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11D, the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated is calculated for each processing process, the reduction target priority is determined, and the respective processing processes 1 to 6 are ranked.

Further, as shown in FIG.
Requesting the allocation of a buffer,
1 (d), the buffers are released from the first-ranked process 1 to the process 7, and the minimum necessary buffer is allocated to the process 7. FIG.
1 (e), after allocating buffers to the processing processes 7, calculate the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated for each processing process, determine the reduction target priority, and This shows the result of ranking.

Buffer Redistribution Process 2 Next, the buffer redistribution process 2 executed in step S404 shown in FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating the procedure of the buffer redistribution process 2.
When executing the buffer redistribution process 2, the buffer management manager 103 selects a module 1 that has selected the fixed mode in which the number of buffer blocks to be distributed is fixed, from among the processing processes of the module 106 currently being executed.
The process 06 is excluded from the processing targets of the buffer redistribution process 2. Further, the processing process of the module 106 that has declared the buffer access start is also excluded from the processing target of the buffer redistribution process 2.

First, the buffer management manager 103
For each processing process of each module 106, the number of insufficient buffer blocks (the number of required buffer blocks minus the current number of buffer blocks) that is insufficient for the number of buffer blocks requested to be distributed is calculated (S1201). Specifically, the operation of insufficientSize = requestSize-currentSize is performed.

After calculating the number of insufficient buffer blocks in step S1201, the buffer management manager 103
Multiplies the number of buffer blocks by the weight of the buffer priority for each processing process of each module 106, determines the expansion target priority, and sorts the expansion target priority in descending order. Then, ranking is performed (S1202, S1203). In other words, the order given to the processing process of each module 103 indicates that the buffer management manager 103 should secure all or a part of the buffers for the number of insufficient buffer blocks from the released buffers. This is a criterion for determining whether a request is made for the processing process of the module 106.

That is, the buffer management manager 103
In step S1202, each module 106
For each of the processing processes, the expansion target priority is determined by repeatedly executing the operation expandPriority = insufficientSize × priority × C, and the determined expansion target priorities are sorted in descending order to the processing process of each module 106. And ranking (S1203).

Note that the priority of the processing process of the module 106 having the higher buffer priority by the expansion target priority is higher than the processing process of the other modules 106 having the same number of distributable buffer blocks.

Then, the buffer management manager 103
Executes processing for securing the released buffer by issuing an expansion request to the first-rank module 106 determined in steps S1202 and S1203 (S1204).

Here, the extension request requests the first module 106 to secure the number of buffer blocks equal to or less than the number of insufficient buffer blocks obtained in step S1201 from the released buffer blocks. The first-rank module 106 that has received the expansion request can secure a buffer block as necessary and expand the occupied buffer (buffer redistribution).
However, even if the first-rank module receives the expansion request from the buffer management module 103, if it is not necessary to expand the buffer, it is not necessary to secure the released buffer and expand the buffer.

Then, the buffer management manager 103
Determines whether all the released buffers have been allocated or whether the released buffers have been allocated to the processing processes of all the modules 106 targeted for the buffer reallocation processing 2. (S1205).

In step S1205, it is determined that all the released buffers are not allocated, or the released buffers are allocated to the processing processes of all the modules 106 which are the targets of the buffer redistribution processing 2. If the buffer management module 103 determines that there is no data, the process proceeds to steps S1201 to S1204.
Is repeatedly executed.

On the other hand, it is determined that all the buffers released in step S1205 have been allocated, or the released buffers are allocated to the processing processes of all the modules 106 which are the targets of the buffer redistribution process 2. If it is determined that the buffer management module 10
3 ends the buffer redistribution process 2 and returns to step S301 in FIG.

Here, regarding buffer redistribution processing 2,
This will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. First, the current buffer allocation status is as shown in FIG. 9, and it is assumed that the processing processes 1 to 7 and other processing processes are currently being executed. FIG. 15A shows the state of the buffer blocks allocated to each of the processing processes 1 to 7, corresponding to FIG. Also,
FIG. 15 (b) calculates the number of insufficient buffer blocks for each processing process, determines the extension target priority,
It shows a state where ranking is performed for each of the processing processes 1 to 7.

In FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, the uppermost processing process corresponds to the first-rank processing process.
In this processing process, the number of buffer blocks requested by the expansion request from the buffer management manager 103 is secured, and the already allocated buffers can be extended by the secured buffer blocks.

In FIGS. 15 and 16, a rectangular area indicated by a halftone dot is a buffer block (minimum number of operating buffer blocks) necessary for the processing process, and a rectangular area surrounded by a solid line is another processing process. The buffer area that can be allocated to the buffer area (the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated), and the rectangular area surrounded by the dotted line is the buffer block that is insufficient for the required number of buffer blocks (the number of buffer blocks that are insufficient) and the hatched area. The rectangular areas correspond to buffer blocks that are allocated as missing buffer blocks.

Considering the case where another processing process releases eight buffer blocks as shown in FIG. 13, the released eight processing blocks are different from the first-order processing process 4 shown in FIG. Buffer blocks are allocated.
Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 16D, the number of insufficient buffer blocks is calculated for each processing process, the expansion target priority is determined, and the respective processing processes 1 to 7 are ranked.

Next, assuming that another processing process releases nine buffer blocks as shown in FIG. 14, the released processing process 5 is compared to the first-order processing process 5 shown in FIG. One buffer block is allocated.
In FIG. 16E, after the released buffer blocks are allocated to the processing process 5, the number of insufficient buffer blocks is calculated for each processing process, and the expansion target priority is determined. 9 shows the result of ranking the processing processes 1 to 7.

(6) Effects of this Embodiment As described above, according to the buffer dynamic management method of this embodiment, when the load of the entire system changes due to an increase or decrease in the number of processing processes, each processing process is executed. When dynamically redistributing the buffer area allocated to the buffer, the buffer reallocation processing is performed for a specific processing process, so that the processing can be speeded up and simplified.

Further, since the buffer reallocation processing is performed for a specific processing process, the buffer reallocation can be performed without affecting other processing processes.

Further, in order to perform the buffer redistribution processing for a specific processing process, the number of times multimedia data is saved from the buffer to the disk is reduced.
The benefits of buffering can be maximized.

The embodiment of the present invention has been described by taking as an example the application of the dynamic buffer management method according to the present invention to the MOD system shown in FIG. 17, but the operation of the buffer according to the present invention has been described. It is needless to say that the dynamic management method can be applied to other systems and devices that require dynamic management of buffers.

In the buffer management in the multi-thread, the buffer management manager 103 exists as one object, but is not a procedure operating as one thread. The operation for actually making a registration request to the buffer management manager 103 is performed when the thread that registers the buffer uses an object of the buffer management manager 103 and instructs the buffer used by another thread to reduce or expand the buffer. Is running.

Furthermore, in the buffer redistribution processing 1 and the buffer redistribution processing 2 in the above-described embodiment, the number of allocatable buffer blocks, the number of insufficient buffer blocks, and the like have been described as being calculated. Information about these may always be stored as a table.

In the dynamic buffer management method according to the present embodiment described above, a computer executes a prepared program in accordance with the procedures of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3, 4, 5 and 12. It is realized by. This program is recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a hard disk, a floppy disk, a CD-ROM, an MO, and a DVD, and is executed by being read from the recording medium by the computer. This program can be distributed via the recording medium or via a network.

[0122]

As described above, according to the dynamic buffer management method of the present invention (claim 1), when a buffer block allocation request is issued from an unexecuted processing process, the buffer area in the buffer area is deleted. If the number of unused buffer blocks is less than the minimum number of buffer blocks required to execute processing in an unexecuted processing process, reduce the number of buffer blocks allocated to any of the executing processing processes. A determining step of determining whether a buffer block can be allocated to the currently executing processing process; and reducing the number of buffer blocks allocated to any of the currently executing processing processes if the determining step determines that the buffer block can be allocated. A buffer securing step for securing a buffer block to be allocated to an unexecuted processing process. A buffer allocation step of allocating the buffer block secured in the file securing step to the processing process that is not being executed, thereby realizing the buffer reallocation processing for a specific processing process, thereby speeding up and simplifying the processing. And the buffer can be redistributed without affecting other processing processes. Furthermore, by performing buffer redistribution processing for a specific processing process, the number of times multimedia data is saved from the buffer to the disk can be reduced, so that the advantages of buffering can be maximized. be able to.

According to the buffer dynamic management method of the present invention (claim 2), in the buffer dynamic management method according to claim 1, the determination step is performed between an unexecuted processing process and an executing process. Compare the minimum number of buffer blocks required for each process to execute the process with the total number of buffer blocks in the buffer area.If the total number does not exceed the total number of buffer blocks, Since it is determined that a buffer block can be allocated to the processing process of the above, it is possible to easily determine whether or not the buffer can be allocated to the processing process that is not being executed, and to affect the processing process that is being executed. The buffer reallocation process can be performed without giving.

According to the buffer dynamic management method of the present invention (claim 3), the buffer dynamic management method according to claim 1 or 2 further includes: Including a rank information generating step of generating reduced rank information for determining a running process to reduce the buffer block, the buffer securing step is based on the reduced rank information generated in the rank information generating step, Since the running process to be subjected to the buffer block reduction is determined, the running process to be subjected to the buffer reallocation process can be easily determined.

According to the dynamic buffer management method of the present invention (claim 4), in the dynamic buffer management method of claim 3, the order information generating step is performed for each processing process being executed. Based on the currently allocated number of buffer blocks and the minimum number of buffer blocks required to execute the processing, the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated to the processing process that is not being executed is determined, and based on the determined number of buffer blocks. By generating the reduction order, the buffers to be allocated to the unexecuted processing processes can be secured in order from the processing process with the spare buffer block to the allocated buffer blocks. It can be easily secured.

Further, according to the buffer dynamic management method of the present invention (claim 5), in the buffer dynamic management method according to claim 4, the processing process stores priority information on buffer block allocation. For example, by generating the reduction order based on the priority information and the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated to the unexecuted processing processes obtained for each of the currently executed processing processes, for example, Since a high priority can be set for a processing process that requires high-speed processing, even if the number of buffer blocks allocated to the processing process has room, It is possible to prevent a situation in which the number of buffer blocks is reduced and the processing is delayed.

According to the dynamic buffer management method of the present invention (claim 6), in the dynamic buffer management method according to any one of claims 3 to 5, the processing process is performed by using a buffer block. When requesting the allocation, it is possible to select one of a dynamic allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is variable and a fixed allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is fixed. In addition, by excluding the processing processes for which the fixed allocation mode is selected from the currently executing processing processes for which buffer blocks are to be reduced, only the processing processes for which the number of buffer blocks to be allocated can be changed are used for the buffer reallocation processing. Because it can be targeted, processing processes that cannot be targeted for redistribution processing will be targeted for processing. It is possible to prevent the occurrence of state.

Further, according to the buffer dynamic management method of the present invention (claim 7), when a buffer block is released from an arbitrary processing process, the released buffer is transferred to one of the other processing processes. By including the buffer allocating step to allocate, the buffer reallocation processing is performed for a specific processing process, so that the processing can be speeded up and simplified, and without affecting other processing processes, Buffer reallocation can be performed. Furthermore, by performing buffer redistribution processing for a specific processing process, the number of times multimedia data is saved from the buffer to the disk can be reduced, so that the advantages of buffering can be maximized. be able to.

According to the buffer dynamic management method of the present invention (claim 8), in the buffer dynamic management method of claim 7, the buffer is released before executing the buffer allocation step. Including a rank information generating step of generating allocation rank information for determining a processing process to be allocated to the buffer block, wherein the buffer allocation step includes:
Based on the assigned rank information generated in the rank information generation step,
Since the processing process to which the released buffer block is to be allocated is determined, it is possible to easily determine the running processing process to be subjected to the buffer reallocation processing.

According to the buffer dynamic management method of the present invention (claim 9), in the buffer dynamic management method according to claim 8, the order information generation step is performed for each processing process. Based on the number of allocated buffer blocks and the number of buffer blocks requested at the time of executing the process, the number of insufficient buffer blocks for the requested number of buffer blocks is obtained, and the obtained buffer for the shortage is obtained. Since the allocation order is generated based on the number of blocks, the buffers can be preferentially redistributed to the processing processes having a large number of missing buffer blocks.

According to the buffer dynamic management method of the present invention (claim 10), in the buffer dynamic management method according to claim 9, the processing process includes the priority information on the buffer block allocation order. And the order information generating step generates an allocation order based on the priority order information and the number of insufficient buffer blocks obtained for each processing process, for example, high-speed processing is required. Higher priorities can be set for such processing processes, so even if the number of buffer blocks that are insufficient for the processing process is small, the number of buffer blocks is preferentially increased to speed up the processing. Can be achieved.

According to the dynamic buffer management method of the present invention (claim 11), in the dynamic buffer management method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, the processing process is performed by using a buffer block. When requesting a quota for
Either the dynamic allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is variable or the fixed allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is fixed can be selected, and the rank information generating step includes the steps of: By excluding the processing processes for which the fixed allocation mode is selected from the processing processes to be allocated, only the processing processes that can change the number of buffer blocks to be allocated can be targeted for buffer reallocation processing. It is possible to prevent a situation in which a processing process that cannot be a target of the allocation processing is set as a processing target.

Further, according to the computer-readable recording medium of the present invention (Claim 12),
11, a program for causing a computer to execute the steps of the dynamic buffer management method described in any one of No. 11 is recorded. By executing this program on the computer, the buffer can be reprocessed for a specific processing process. Since the allocation processing can be performed, the processing can be speeded up and simplified, and a dynamic buffer management method that can perform buffer reallocation without affecting other processing processes. Can be realized. Furthermore, by performing buffer reallocation processing for a specific processing process, the number of times that multimedia data is saved from the buffer to the disk can be reduced, so that the buffer operation that can maximize the advantages of buffering can be performed. Can achieve a strategic management method.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram for explaining a concept of processing by a dynamic buffer management method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram of still image data for explaining a required number of buffer blocks and a minimum number of operating buffer blocks which are information used in the dynamic buffer management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of buffer allocation processing in the dynamic buffer management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a buffer release detection process in the dynamic buffer management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a buffer redistribution process 1 in the dynamic buffer management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for more specifically describing buffer redistribution processing 1 in the buffer dynamic management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram for more specifically describing buffer redistribution processing 1 in the buffer dynamic management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram for more specifically explaining buffer redistribution processing 1 in the buffer dynamic management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram for more specifically describing buffer redistribution processing 1 in the buffer dynamic management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram for more specifically describing buffer redistribution processing 1 in the buffer dynamic management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for more specifically describing buffer reallocation processing 1 in the buffer dynamic management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a buffer reallocation process 2 in the dynamic buffer management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram for more specifically describing buffer redistribution processing 2 in the buffer dynamic management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram for more specifically explaining the buffer reallocation process 2 in the buffer dynamic management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram for more specifically describing buffer redistribution processing 2 in the buffer dynamic management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram for more specifically describing buffer reallocation processing 2 in the buffer dynamic management method according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram of a multimedia on demand system (MOD system).

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 server device 101 a to 101 c client device 102 network 103 buffer management manager 104 memory management manager 105 memory 106 multimedia buffering module (module)

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. An arbitrary system which collectively manages a buffer area used for processing multimedia data in the entire system or a specific device, and divides the buffer area into a plurality of blocks and executes the buffer area at each time. In the method for dynamically managing buffers to be dynamically allocated to a number of processing processes, when an unexecuted processing process requests a buffer block allocation, the number of unused buffer blocks in the buffer area is reduced to If the number of buffer blocks required for execution of the process is less than the minimum number of buffer blocks in the running process, the number of buffer blocks allocated to any of the running processes is reduced to reduce the number of buffer blocks in the unexecuted process. A determining step of determining whether a block can be allocated; and A buffer securing step of securing a buffer block to be allocated to the unexecuted processing process by reducing the number of buffer blocks allocated to any of the currently executing processing processes, A buffer allocating step of allocating the buffer block secured in the securing step to the unexecuted processing process. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining step includes a total number of buffer blocks necessary for the unexecuted processing process and an executing processing process to execute processing, and a total number of buffer blocks in the buffer area. 2. The buffer according to claim 1, wherein if the total number does not exceed the total number of buffer blocks, it is determined that a buffer block can be allocated to the unexecuted processing process. Dynamic management method. 3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: before executing the buffer allocating step, the order information generating step of generating reduction order information for determining an active processing process to be reduced in buffer blocks. 3. The buffer according to claim 1, wherein the securing step determines the currently executing processing process to be reduced in buffer blocks based on the reduced rank information generated in the rank information generating step. 4. Dynamic management method. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the order information generating step is configured to perform the unexecuted processing based on a currently allocated number of buffer blocks and a minimum number of buffer blocks required to execute the processing for each of the currently executed processing processes. 4. The dynamic buffer management method according to claim 3, wherein the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated to the middle process is obtained, and the reduction order is generated based on the obtained number of buffer blocks. 5. The processing process has priority information on the assignment of the buffer block, and the priority information generating step includes the priority information and the unexecuted process obtained for each of the processing processes being executed. 5. The reduction order is generated based on the number of buffer blocks that can be allocated to the processing process of (4).
The dynamic management method of the buffer according to 2. 6. The processing process can select either a dynamic allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is variable or a fixed allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is fixed when requesting the allocation of the buffer block. The ranking information generating step, when the reduction ranking is generated, excludes a processing process in which the fixed allocation mode is selected from running processing processes for which the buffer block is to be reduced. Claim 3 to
5. The method for dynamically managing a buffer according to any one of 5. 7. An arbitrary system that collectively manages a buffer area used for processing multimedia data in the entire system or a specific device, and divides the buffer area into a plurality of blocks and executes the buffer area at each time. In the method of dynamically managing buffers dynamically allocated to a number of processing processes, a buffer allocating step of allocating the released buffer to one of the other processing processes when a buffer block is released from an arbitrary processing process A dynamic buffer management method, comprising: 8. A buffer information generating step of generating allocation priority information for determining a processing process to which a released buffer block is to be allocated before executing the buffer allocation step, 8. The dynamic buffer management according to claim 7, wherein the step determines a processing process to which the released buffer block is to be allocated, based on the allocation order information generated in the order information generating step. Method. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the order information generating step includes, for each of the processing processes, based on a currently allocated number of buffer blocks and a number of buffer blocks requested when executing the processing. 9. The dynamic buffer management method according to claim 8, wherein the number of deficient buffer blocks is calculated and the allocation order is generated based on the calculated number of deficient buffer blocks. 10. The processing process has priority information relating to the allocation order of the buffer blocks, and the priority information generating step includes the priority information and a shortage buffer block obtained for each processing process. The method according to claim 9, wherein the allocation order is generated based on a number. 11. The processing process can select either a dynamic allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is variable or a fixed allocation mode in which the number of buffer blocks is fixed when requesting the allocation of the buffer block. The ranking information generating step is characterized in that, when the allocation ranking is generated, a processing process selecting the fixed allocation mode is excluded from processing processes to be allocated to the released buffer block. Claim 8-
10. The dynamic buffer management method according to any one of the tenth to eleventh aspects. 12. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for causing a computer to execute each step of the dynamic buffer management method according to claim 1. Description: .